SHAWNEE, Okla.—Southern Nazarene was unable to get back into the win column on Tuesday afternoon as they dropped a pair of two run contests at Oklahoma Baptist, falling 4-2 in game one, before dropping game two 3-1.
Game 1:
While there was not a lot of scoring in game one, it was still much higher scoring than three of the four matchups between these teams last season that all ended up as 1-0 wins for Southern Nazarene. This time, it was Oklahoma Baptist who got the win, knocking off the Crimson Storm 4-2 in game one of the day.
Oklahoma Baptist struck first with one run in the first inning, but SNU tied the game in the third inning when Liana Heshiki doubled home Brooklyn Sullivan.
The Bison were able to regain the lead in the fourth inning when Zoey Johnson hit her first career home run, a two-run shot that put OBU up for good.
SNU got one run back in the fifth inning when Natalie Jones singled home Kennedy Sherer. The Storm then had an opportunity to tie the game, but a strikeout and a popout in foul territory stranded the tying and go-ahead runs on first and second base.
After Oklahoma Baptist grabbed an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning, SNU placed two runners in scoring position with one out in the sixth, but they could not push them across as two strikeouts stranded those runners on second and third.
It was a tall task for SNU going against the top pitcher in the GAC, Kayleigh Jones. Jones leads the conference in wins (14), strikeouts (154), and ERA (0.53). She struck out 11 more batters on Tuesday, and both runs allowed were unearned.
Each team notched just 5 hits in the game. Liana Heshiki was SNU's only player with multiple hits, collecting 2, including the RBI double.
Game 2:
The offense continued to struggle in game two. They managed just 1 run on 7 hits in the game, and no runs on 5 hits over the final 6 innings of the game. They left 8 runners on base for the game.
Emma Swearingen, who saw her first action since the opening weekend one month ago, roped a first inning double that scored Natalie Jones and gave SNU their first lead of the day. That lead did not last long as an OBU sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first tied the game.
The Bison then plated the final two runs of the game in third inning. They held their 3-1 lead through the final 4 innings of the game by limiting the Crimson Storm to just 3 hits over those four innings.
Janie Worthington took her first start in the circle for the season. She worked all 6 innings, allowing just 2 earned runs and striking out 2 batters.
Sydney Sundbye led SNU with 2 hits.
Southern Nazarene will try to get back on track this weekend in Alva as they take on Northwestern Oklahoma State. The teams will meet for a single game on Friday, March 10 at 4:00 p.m. before a Saturday double-header at noon. SNU has won six straight over Northwestern, sweeping the Rangers each of the last two seasons.
